Sydney Glazier

Prof. Mickelson

HLTH 1020

30 November 2018

Food Inc. Reflection

Americans have found themselves in a dietary trend of eating more food of low

nutritional value. This has resulted in two thirds of the adult population being overweight or

obese, (Healthy Eating Patterns). Despite this, we tend to care little about where all this food is

coming from. Food Inc. is a documentary that helps its viewers gain an inside view of how their

food comes to be before it is magically in the grocery store. It begins by talking about how fast

food helped to create a factory system for food where the menu was simple, workers did a certain

task repeatedly, and it all revolved around flavor over sustenance. The need for food all over the

country to taste identical for big buyers, like McDonalds, brought a way of raising it that was

also identical. Standardized raising procedures were created and choice began to fade from the

hands of both the farmer and consumer. This resulted in a handful of companies supplying the

greater majority of common products like beef, chicken, and soybeans.

This documentary looks not only at what is in our food but how it’s produced. Food is no

longer something controlled by farmers and ranchers, but rather parent several companies. Every

decision from test tube, to seed, to field, to shelf is made by overarcing companies who only care

about the dollar amount that results. Kenner follows several farmers who show the results and a

real view into the works of food production that has been hidden from the consumers eyes for so

long. As buyers favored different flavors and food characteristics scientists adapted the genetic
code in these organisms to better suit these preferences. This resulted in unhealthy chickens that

were shown with large breasts to accommodate what the Washington Post described as our

“obsession with white meat,” (Ferdman). This did not come without consequence though as the

chickens could not walk more than a few steps and were keep in very close quarters to cut costs.

The financial promise of food alterations became the reason why bioengineers have

worked so hard to produce efficient crops of common plants like corn and soybeans. These

variations have become so successful that not only are they being included on store shelves, they

are dominating them. It has been calculated that, “​Currently, up to 92% of U.S. corn is

genetically engineered (GE), as are 94% of soybeans and 94% of cotton (cottonseed oil is often

used in food products). It has been estimated that upwards of 75% of processed foods on

supermarket shelves...contain genetically engineered ingredients.” (About GE Foods). The film

showed that the company who owns the patent for soybeans that are not harmed by Roundup so

that they can kill weeds easier without harming their fields is vicious about keeping it’s soybeans

for themselves. They will not allow farmers to use seeds created and will file heavy lawsuits if

they go against that agreement. This is done in order to keep money coming their way as

additional seeds need to be purchased each season to continue growing them. Strategies like this

are what make the fraction of genetically altered food so high.

I choose to watch this documentary because of my growing fascination with the affects

food truly does have on every aspect of our lives. People may notice connections between fatty

food and weight gain or vegetables and increased energy but what they may not notice are the

long term effects that come partially as a result to the food we eat. Dr. Edward Giovannucci of

the school of public health has confirmed that, “​The connection between processed meat and
cancer is consistent...eating around 50 grams a day of processed meat (about 2 ounces) is

associated with about a 20% increase in colorectal cancer risk.” (Cancer and Diet). I work at a

cancer hospital so learning this really peaked my attention. This kind of processing of meat is

regularly done before it enters our homes and I wondered what other things were hidden in food

without the knowledge of the public. The documentary showed the the increase in E Coli cases

as a result of modern farming habits that track cow manure not only through the herds, but also

through the fields, water supplies, factories, and eventually the food we are eating. I would

assume that contaminated water supplies from this type of crossing caused the current outbreak

of E Coli in romaine lettuce.

Robert Kenner is the documentarian responsible for creating Food Inc. He is by all means

a man who grabs at topics the public knows little about and makes his films to inform and

possibly even change the perspective of his audience. Due to his lack of nutritional background,

he counted on the experts of the field to provide the evidence rather than drawing all the

conclusions himself. This increased the logos aspect of persuasion he used to create a base for

his later points. His lack of nutritional background did not take away from the film as most of it

was narrated by authors like Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser who became well versing in the

business of nutrition through writing about nutrition related topics like the fast food epidemic.

Though this film was created ten years ago, it remains just as relevant if not more. We

have not completely cured our country of the issues brought up by it and need to continue

improving to help our citizen’s health. Thankfully, since it’s production we have improved on

some things. One major problem addressed was the widespread cases of foodborne illnesses

which, according to the CDC, have occurred less frequently. This is largely thanks to the Food
Modernization Act of 2011 which helps give the power to, “ regulate food facilities, establish

standards for safe produce, recall contaminated foods, oversee imported foods, and which

requires improvements in surveillance and response to outbreaks.” (Trends in Foodborne

Illness). This combats the lack of inspections that occured as people in the food industry took

control of government seats and loosened regulations. This came thanks to many things

including documentaries like Food Inc. If we continue to watch frightening facts like are in it we

can continue to be motivated to strive for improvement.

The main contrasting ideas between what was taught in the textbook and what Food Inc.

claimed reside largely in what we should eat in comparison to what we actually eat. Processed

foods carry with them extra chemicals, sodium, and sugars which have caused the average

American to consume more than their daily allowance of salts and sugars. Though they are they

to help with preservation and flavor, they do not do the body good as was taught in our textbook.

Some consequences could be increased blood pressure and increased BMI. The film however

showed that we are eating more and more processed foods due to its accessibility. It is also

important to increase the variety in the food we eat. We should not only ingest foods like

vegetables and fruits but also healthy fats like that in nuts, lean meat, low fat dairy, and whole

grains in order to cover all our needed micro and macro nutrients. However, as companies find

new ways of manipulating cheap materials like corn, they limit the variation in our diets. We are

eating so many refined grains that give us little nutrition instead of having more natural food that

has keep its nutrients. In our assignment called the $10 challenge we learned that though many

healthy foods do come at a higher cost, it is still possible to eat healthy at a low budget. A family

in the documentary did not agree. They had a low budget but claimed that it was more beneficial
for them to eat a cheap burger from a fast food joint than to buy ingredients at a grocery store.

The book showed us that the food coming from those restaurants are desirable for their taste not

for their nutrition. The family was struggling with being overweight and having type 2 diabetes

so they would benefit from sacrificing meal portions for food that is more nutritionally dense.

I knew next to nothing about where my food came from before watching this so I was

able to learn a lot! I finished watching the film right before I started my shift at work and

couldn’t stop talking about it all day. I ended up having a really good conversation about it with

two of my coworkers who are vegan and really enjoy documentaries so they had both seen it

before. The section on animal development changes and treatment especially made me question

my choices. I felt guilty that I had been a contributing factor to the cruel treatment of so many

animals without even realizing it. This has really inspired me to be more conscious about reading

the food label and learning about the origin before I eat something. I want to buy grass fed beef

and buy from more local farmers to oppose the heavy control meat companies have gained over

the industry and help support those who want to do what they think is best for the animal. This

made me have a deeper appreciation and understanding of the lifestyle my vegan coworker has

chosen to adopt. He told me that it wasn’t easy or a decision he made overnight. It took him

months of wrestling with himself over what was easy and what felt right before he was able to

completely change his habits. After learning these things I would like to be more conscientious

of not only what kind of food I put in my body but also how it was produced to help myself stay

healthier and encourage production methods that I find morally sound.

 Works Cited

“About GE Foods.” ​Center for Food Safety,​

www.centerforfoodsafety.org/issues/311/ge-foods/about-ge-foods.

“Cancer and Diet: What's the Connection?” ​Harvard Health Blog​, Harvard Health Publishing,

Sept. 2016, www.health.harvard.edu/cancer/cancer-and-diet-whats-the-connection.

Ferdman, Roberto A. “Look at What Our Obsession with White Meat Has Done to Chickens.”

The Washington Post​, WP Company, 12 Mar. 2015,

www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/03/12/our-insatiable-appetite-for-cheap-

white-meat-is-making-chickens-unrecognizable/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.c47110711f

d9.

“Shifts Needed To Align With Healthy Eating Patterns.” ​Dietary Guidelines 2015-2020,​ U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture , 25

Nov. 2015, health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/chapter-2/

current-eating-patterns-in-the-united-states/.

“Trends in Foodborne Illness in the United States, 1996–2012.” ​CDC Fact Sheet,​ Center for

Disease Control, www.cdc.gov/foodnet/PDFs/ncezid-trends-factsheet-508c.pdf.